The embodiments of the present invention generally relate to lighting systems that are digitally controlled and to the lighting fixtures used therein, in particular multiparameter lighting fixtures having one or more image projection lighting parameters.
Lighting systems are typically formed by interconnecting, via a communications system, a plurality of lighting fixtures and providing for operator control of the plurality of lighting fixtures from a central controller. Such lighting systems may contain multiparameter light fixtures, which illustratively are lighting fixtures having two or more individually remotely adjustable parameters such as focus, color, image, position, or other light characteristics. Multiparameter light fixtures are widely used in the lighting industry because they facilitate significant reductions in overall lighting system size and permit dynamic changes to the final lighting effect. Applications and events in which multiparameter light fixtures are used to great advantage include showrooms, television lighting, stage lighting, architectural lighting, live concerts, and theme parks. Illustrative multi-parameter lighting devices are described in the product brochure entitled “The High End Systems Product Line 2001” and are available from High End Systems, Inc. of Austin, Tex.
A variety of different types of multiparameter lighting fixtures are available. One type of advanced multiparameter lighting fixture, which is called an image projection lighting device (“IPLD”), uses a light valve to project images onto a stage or other projection surface. A light valve, which is also known as an image gate, is a device, such as a digital micro-mirror (“DMD”) or a liquid crystal display (“LCD”), that forms the image that is to be projected.
United States patent application titled “Method, apparatus and system for image projection lighting”, inventor Richard S. Belliveau, publication no. 20020093296, Ser. No. 10/090,926, filed on Mar. 4, 2002, incorporated by reference herein, describes prior art IPLDs with cameras and communication systems that allow camera content, such as in the form of digital data, to be transferred between IPLDs.
IPLDs of the prior art use light from a projection lamp that is sent though a light valve and focused by an output lens to project images on a stage. The light cast upon the stage by the IPLD is then imaged by the camera. U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,093 to Perry titled “Method and device for creating the facsimile of an image”, incorporated herein by reference describes a camera that may be an infrared camera for use with a described lighting device that uses liquid crystal light valves to project an image. “Accordingly the camera and light are mounted together for articulation about x, y, and z axes as is illustrated in FIG. 1” (Perry, U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,093, col. 4, line 59).
The prior art patent to Perry, U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,093 makes use of a camera to distinguish objects in the camera's field from other objects. The distinguished object as imaged by the camera is then illuminated by the projected light passing through the light valves so as to only illuminate the distinguished object. The objects may be provided with an infrared emitter or reflector which interacts with a receiver or camera. Perry relies on the light produced from the projection lamp and the light valves to provide the illumination to the scene where the camera images or separate emitters or reflectors are provided with the objects on the stage.
United States patent application titled “METHOD AND APPARTUS FOR CONTROLLING IMAGES WITH IMAGE PROJECTION LIGHTING DEVICES”, inventor Richard S. Belliveau, Ser. No. 10/206,162, filed on Jul. 26, 2002, incorporated by reference herein, describes control systems for IPLDs and IPLDs with cameras and more specifically the control of images in a lighting system that includes multiparameter lights having an image projection lighting parameter.
United States patent application titled “Image Projection Lighting Devices with Visible and Infrared Imaging”, inventor Richard S. Belliveau, Ser. No. 10/290,660 filed on Nov. 8, 2002, incorporated by reference herein, describes IPLDs that contain cameras that can capture both visible and infrared images.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,933 to Hewlett titled Electronically Controlled Stage Lighting System describes a memory that automatically maintains a registry of parts which are changed, and important system events, such as lamp life, over temperatures, and other things. The supervisor maintains a registry of the various events with a real time clock. The information in the registry can be updated to a tech port as a parameter every 15 seconds or commanded to be displayed by the lamp itself. A lamp display command causes the messages in the registry to be converted to fonts and used to control the DMD to display the text as a shaped light output. This allows detecting the contents of the registry without a dedicated display terminal using the existing digital light altering device as a display mechanism.
Control of the IPLDs is affected by an operator using a central controller that may be located several hundred feet away from the projection surface. In a given application, there may be hundreds of IPLDs used to illuminate the projection surface, with each IPLD having many parameters that may be adjusted to create a scene. During the creation of a scene the operator of the central controller may adjust the many parameters of each of the plurality of IPLDs. For each new scene created the process is repeated. A typical show may be formed of hundreds of scenes. The work of adjusting or programming the parameters to the desired values for the many IPLDs to create a scene can take quite some time. Many times the scenes are created by the operator during a rehearsal and the time for programming the many IPLDs has limitations. When the operator of the central controller is looking at the projection surface that is projected upon by many IPLDs it can be difficult to determine which IPLD on the projection surface as related to a specific fixture number displayed at the central controller.
The term “content” refers to various types of works such as videos, graphics, and stills that are projected by an IPLD as an image or images. A plurality of IPLDs may each be projecting different images as determined by the content on the projection surface. The content used to form an image that each IPLD projects on the projection surface is selected by an operator of a central controller. The central controller provides a visual list on a display monitor of each fixture number of the plurality of IPLDs and a content identifier of the content that is being projected. When the operator is looking at the projection surface the operator can see the different images of the content being projected but can not determine what the content identifier is until associating the fixture number with the content identifier on the visual list on the central controller.
The IPLDs used on a show are usually provided to the show as rental equipment. The IPLDs are quite complex and relatively expensive devices. For some shows several different lighting companies may rent the IPLDs to the show. The IPLDs are often transported to and from the shows by truck. Expensive lighting instruments are occasionally stolen from a show or in some instances an entire truck may be stolen. The lighting company that is the victim of theft may report the stolen lighting instrument serial numbers to a law enforcement agency. Unfortunately many of the stolen lighting instruments end up many miles away and are possibly sold to other lighting companies who have no idea that they are purchasing stolen merchandise. The need exists to increase the awareness of ownership of an IPLD that has been stolen by anyone attempting to purchase the stolen product.
If for each IPLD each of the parameters of pan, tilt, selectable content, image rotate, zoom, focus and color adjustment needed to be adjusted this would be very time consuming for the operator of the central controller. If during one scene the content that creates the images projected on the projection surface by the plurality of IPLDs can be animated such as a movie, the scene can remain longer before boredom occurs to the audience viewing the show and fewer scenes may be required for the programming of the show. One way of increasing the audience's involvement during a show is by allowing the performer to interact with the show itself. This can be done by sensors that monitor a performer and allow certain aspects of the show to change with the actions of the performer based on sensor input. The MidiDancer manufactured by Troika Ranch of Brooklyn N.Y. is a device worn by a dancer that provides sensor monitoring of the dancers movement. The MidiDancer uses sensors to measure the flexion of up to eight joints on the dancer's body and then transmits the position of each of those joints to a computer off stage. Once interpreted by software running on the computer, the information can be used to control a variety of computer-controllable media including digital video or audio files, theatrical lighting, robotic set pieces or any number of other computer controllable devices. Palindrome Performance of Nurnberg Germany has developed a software program using a personal computer that tracks a performer's movement on a stage. The personal computer then can be connected to various types of devices that interact with the movement of a performer. There is a need to produce an image projection lighting device that can produce interactive images that maintain the audience's attention greater than the video and still images of the prior art.